Ever
by catsmeow79
Summary: Loriens only fall for one person . . . ever.  John/Sara post-movie, multi-chapter. Strictly movie-verse, don't know anything about the book.
1. Chapter 1

**Ever**

The dividing lines of the highway whizzed past at break-neck speed, one dash blending into the next as John allowed his eyes to loose their focus and eventually slip shut momentarily. He sighed loudly, opening his eyes and rubbing his temples with his hands, trying to stay alert.

"Why don't you just take a nap?" came an exasperated voice from the driver's seat.

Sam had offered to drive over an hour ago, and in a rare moment of acquiescence, John had agreed. Now, he regretted the move because it gave him nothing to focus on except for his own thoughts - - it had been one year, four months, and twenty-two days (_not that he was counting_) since they had left Paradise, Ohio and Sara behind.

They had found Seven in China and Eight in Ireland, they were still searching for Five and Nine, but that was a good sign - - if he and Six couldn't find them, then the Mogs probably couldn't either. The Loriens had set up a home-base of sorts on the site of an old abandoned mining operation in Montana. No neighbors for miles, no one to complain about loud explosions and bright lights as they trained together, strengthening their skills, learning to work together.

John sighed loudly again, tapping his foot impatiently as the miles seemed to crawl by. He didn't have to open his eyes to know that Sam was glaring at him in the darkness. He and Six had decided that Sam's ratty old 1950's pick-up was too conspicuous after the second old-timer had stopped them to inquire about purchasing it at a gas station. Belonging to his father, Sam couldn't bare to part with it, so now they used it as a farm vehicle instead. They had upgraded to a fully-loaded SUV for highway driving courtesy of Six's "unique" procurement skills.

Frustrated by the worries swirling uncontrollably in his head, John reclined the seat back and opened the moon-roof, gazing up at the stars as they flew by in the black. The stars had always been a comfort to him, even as a small boy when Henri had told him stories Lorien, John wouldd swear he could actually remember the way the night's sky had looked back on his home planet.

One year, four months, and twenty-two days. John hadn't seen or talked to Sara since the day they left Paradise. The explosion at the high-school had made national news, it wasn't safe to call or write in case anyone was watching the town. Now, there had been no activity, no Mogs for over a year, and the Loriens were getting stronger as a team, they could feel each other psychically now, sense trouble from afar.

Two days ago, John had awoken from another sleepless night plagued by dreams of Sara, and realized that he couldn't stand being apart from her for another minute. Sara was the missing piece of himself. Growing up, he'd always known there was a hole inside him, he'd thought at the time it was a mother or father or his home planet, but now he knew that it had always been her, Sara was meant to be both his home _and_ his family. Being without her any longer was simply too difficult.

John had marched into the kitchen that morning, bag already packed, and informed Six that he was going back to Ohio and she was going to have to shoot him in order to stop him. Six had seriously considered shooting him for a minute, but Eight's girlish squealing and ramblings of _"how romantic_" had eventually led Six to toss up her hands in defeat.

"Don't do anything stupid" she had cautioned as he climbed into the car.

"I didn't know you cared" he had teased, sending her a cheeky smile.

"Don't be ridiculous" she had argued smartly, rolling her eyes "They kill _you_ and I'm one number closer myself, that's all."

John smiled wryly at the memory, shaking his head. She had given him her favorite knife for protection, she cared for him whether she would admit to it or not. As it turned out, Six was actually sort-of motherly, in a Linda Hamilton _Terminator 2_ kinda way.

Sam of course, had insisted on tagging along to "_watch your back_". John had agreed, with the stipulation of "_no guns_". 120 miles, the signed flashed by, briefly illuminated by the headlights. He would see Sara again in only two hours.

It was 4 am as Sam pulled onto Sara's street, dimming his headlights and using the streetlights for navigation. Standing on the sidewalk in front of her house, John was suddenly nervous - - _what if she no longer wanted him_? _The passing of time had changed nothing for him, but what if it __**had**__ for her_? John had always known that was a possibility, Henri had told him that humans don't love the way Loriens do. In his heart, John refused to believe it could be true, but he would know one way or the other in a minute.

Taking a deep breath, John scaled the tree outside her bedroom window, effortlessly leaping from it's branches and onto the roof. He knelt beside Sara's window, using his powers to unlock the latch and slide the window open silently. As he climbed inside, he could feel it even before his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Sara wasn't inside. Using his hands to illuminate the room, he spun in a circle, his heart falling - - it was empty, all her belongings were gone.

**Sara was gone**.

tbc.


	2. Chapter 2

John took a deep breath, trying to calm the blood that rushed through his veins, coursing with disappointment. Logically speaking, he hadn't really expected Sara to put her life on hold waiting for him to come back, he hadn't _**wanted**_ her to. But now, standing in her empty bedroom, he realized how much he'd secretly hoped for it, hoped that her mother would finally sell her on attending the local community college.

John smiled ruefully as he turned in a circle, slower this time, shining his hands dimly across every inch of the room. Her collection of cameras was gone from the table, the hundreds of pictures gone from the walls, her photo albums removed from the book shelf, Sara was well and truly moved-out.

Sara had always had big dreams, long before he came to town she had wanted to see the world, get away from the stifling small-town life in Paradise. They were opposites in that way - - John had seen much of the world, but never truly had a home before her, and Sara knew nothing of the world outside of Ohio, and took that feeling of belonging to a place for granted.

John walked over to her bed, sitting carefully on the edge so as not to leave signs of his presence on the linens. He had told her when they'd said goodbye beside the church that he'd come back and find her when it was safe. He wondered where to start his search, thinking momentarily of heading down to her father's office to see if he could find any correspondence from her college of choice.

As he scoured the room from his sitting position, he noticed something partially protruding from a desk drawer. Opening the drawer, he pulled out the photograph of Sara that he had taken with her favorite camera all those months ago. Smiling, he ran his hand slowly across it's surface, his fingertips tracing the flashes of light caused by the leaks in the camera as they spilled across her beautiful face, her eyes dancing with laughter. As he flipped the picture over, he saw the writing - - _**come find me :-)**_ and his heart soared.

Slipping out of her house un-noticed, John found Sam fast asleep in the vehicle.

"_Slide over_" John commanded, opening the driver's side door and startling Sam into consciousness.

"_What's going on_?" Sam asked, climbing clumsily across the console and into the passenger seat, still half asleep.

"_Sara's not here_" John explained, starting the engine. "_We need to go find her_"

"Great, _where_?" Sam asked, his brain beginning to shake the fog of sleep away.

"_I don't know, exactly_" John admitted, pulling slowly away from the curb.

"_Okay, slow down, Romeo_" Sam teased, rubbing his eyes vigorously with the backs of his fists "_We need a plan, first_"

Fifteen minutes later, they were searching the file cabinets in the guidance counselor's office at Paradise's newly re-built senior high.

"_Got it_!" Sam whispered triumphantly "_Sara Hart, matriculating to . . . . . George Washington University_"

"_Sam, you're a genius, I don't tell you that enough_." John answered, uncharacteristically effusive as he slapped his friend on the back.

"_No, you don't_" Sam agreed, nodding his head.

Thanks in large part to Washington DC traffic, it was nearly dusk as John pulled into the visitor's parking-lot on campus. He had dropped Sam off at a local motel before making his way across town to the University. It was a big place, and he had no idea how to find Sara in it, so he decided he'd start at The Smith Hall of Art, figuring that would be the place with the darkroom.

As he made his way across campus, he kept his head down and the hood of his sweatshirt up, trying to blend-in and go unnoticed by the hundreds of students passing by. John could practically hear Six's voice admonishing him in his head - _a college, you followed Sara to a __**college**__? There are thousands of people who could recognize you there_!" Six wasn't wrong either, he was taking a foolish chance by coming to a place so public.

Walking across the quad in front of the student center, John _**felt**_ Sara before he even saw her. Unbidden, John felt his pulse quicken and the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his skin covered suddenly with gooseflesh and he knew, _knew_ with his heart that she was nearby. Recklessly removing his hood, he picked up his head, scanning the crowd as they rushed past him, searching each face for the warmth of those familiar eyes that visited him each night in his dreams. And then he saw her, on the other side of the quad, beside the fountain.

**She was in another man's arms**.

tbc.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sara stood in front of the developing table, absent-mindedly swirling her tongs through the solution as she watched the clock, waiting for her photo to be finished. Sara sighed, letting out an exasperated breath that moved upwards, fluttering her bangs on it's way toward the ceiling.

Sara was not by nature a patient person, she had never been any good at waiting. It seemed strange to her parents when she had chosen photography, an area that required so much waiting - - waiting for the right light, waiting for the right shot, waiting for the pictures to develop. But Sara had fallen in love with the whole process, and even now that so much could be done digitally and online instantaneously, she still found herself in the darkroom most days after class.

Maybe it was because the last peaceful time that she'd spent alone with John had been in the darkroom at the old highschool? Something about being in that space made her feel more at ease, helped to calm the churning in her belly that existed most of the time as she worried about John and whether he was safe. Sara was also getting much better at the waiting part - - especially, waiting for him.

It had been really difficult for Sara in Paradise, where places or things reminded her of John constantly, where people still whispered about how he and his father were terrorists who had blown up the highschool stadium. When graduation had come, Sara couldn't get out of town fast enough. She had picked GW because of the city - - the nation's capital. There was so much to photograph here, the buildings, the people, each with an important story to capture, a task that he kept her mind distracted from what (or who) she was missing.

Sara was renting an apartment off-campus this semester with a performance artist whom she had met on her second day of class. Peter was amazing - sweet, funny, generous, and such a gifted artist that Sara couldn't believe it sometimes. She had worried at first, that it would be weird living with him, there hadn't been any openly gay people at all in her small hometown. But now, that part of him hardly seemed relevant, Peter had become her closest friend, her confidant, and to fit in with the stereotype, her favorite fashion-adviser.

Peter had a zeal for life that came from having been very sickly as a child, he lived every day with an enthusiasm that Sara envied. Through his friendship, Peter was helping Sara to see the world in a different light, a more optimistic light. She found that she desperately need that, needed to feel hopeful that the world would be safe some day and she would get her happily ever after, afterall.

Sara had ultimately decided to take the apartment mostly because of John, he had promised that he would come back for her, he would find her when it was safe and Sara had trusted that he would. She had chosen an apartment in a quiet little neighborhood miles away from campus because she knew it would be safer for John to visit her there than in a dormitory. Her parents had initially freaked-out about the possible dangers, but Sara had eventually prevailed on the subject.

_**Knock, knock, knock**_!

"_Sara, it's past five_." came the voice of Professor Dugan from the other side of the dark room door "_I'd hate for you to get locked inside the building . . . . __**again**_" he warned.

"_Coming_" she answered quickly. Startled from her musings by the sound of his voice, she quickly gathered her belongings.

Nearly ten minutes later, Sara was struggling with the key to her mail box at the student center, jiggling the disagreeable piece of metal this way and that, trying to force the lock to cooperate.

"_I hate this thing_" she complained leaning her head softly against the post office box and banging it several times in frustration.

"_Here, let me try_" Peter offered, wrapping his arms around her waist and swinging her out of the way with a flourish. "_You need a muscle-man for this task_" he boasted, removing the key from her hand and flexing his arms in exaggerated body-builder fashion. Within seconds, the door sprang open effortlessly.

"_Son of a _. . . ." She trailed off in irritation, reaching in to retrieve her mail, seemingly oblivious to Peter's attempt to cheer her up.

"_What's wrong Sweetie_?" He asked, rubbing her shoulders as they exited the building.

"_I don't know_" Sara replied, thumbing through the letters in front of her "_I've had a terrible headache all day, I can't seem to shake it."_

"_Honey, you are __**tense**_" he chided, placing a kiss on her cheek as he removed his hands from her shoulders "_It would take me __hours__ to get all these kinks out_"

"_Oh_!" Sara gasped, freezing in place, her shoulder bag dropping to the ground as she stared at the letter in front of her - - it was from The Washington Post.

"_Jesus, open it_" Peter implored her, reading over her shoulder as she did so.

"_Holy cannoli_" Sara whispered, her eyes widening "_They're going to use my pictures_"

"_They're going to print you_" Peter screamed, picking her up off the ground and spinning her through the air "_The Washington Post is printing YOU_!" he squealed

Sara closed her eyes as Peter spun her around, it always made her kinda dizzy when he did that, and he did it _a lot_, he was easily excited. But this was an occasion that definitely warranted his outburst - - she had been submitting regularly to the most-respected newspaper in town for months now, with no success. Sara grinned widely, enjoying the feeling of accomplishment, it seemed like nothing could possibly top this moment.

And then suddenly, as the world flew by around her, Sara felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time, a familiar tingling up the back of her spine . . . . John. Sara's eyes snapped open abruptly, trying to search the crowd, but the world was spinning too fast.

"_You are a freaking rock star_!" Peter exclaimed as he continued to twirl (people were starting to seriously stare now).

"_Put me down_" Sara insisted abruptly.

Something about her tone made him comply immediately "_You're not going to pass-out, are you_?" Peter asked, setting her down quickly and looking concerned.

"_I might_" she whispered, her voice catching in her throat as her eyes searched the crowd frantically.

After several moments, her eyes found John's

"_**I just might**_"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note**__**: I apologize for the brevity of the chapters, I'm trying to update daily so they're kinda short. **_

_**Please read and review, let me know what you think, it motivates me to keep writing**_.

**Chapter 4**

Staggering backward slightly at the sight before him, John felt like someone had stabbed him straight in his soul. A sharp pain radiated through his chest in combination with the feeling that he couldn't breath, like the wind had been knocked out of him. John reached his hand toward his chest instinctively, kneading at the area fruitlessly as if the searing pain were truly physical in nature. He didn't know what he had been expecting to see, but it definitely wasn't _**this**_.

Sara was only a few hundred feet away, beside the fountain at the center of the common area, spinning through the air in circles as another man held her. Her eyes were closed, lost in the joy of the moment, oblivious to the world around her, and she was smiling.

John couldn't help but notice how Sara's smile seemed to light-up her entire face, he'd forgotten that about her. He'd also forgotten the way that smile affected him, a warmth spreading quickly through his body so that soon he was smiling involuntarily as well. As he stood mesmerized, the pinks and reds of the setting sun were bouncing off the water in the pool and dancing upward to shimmer across her skin, bathing her whole body in an ethereal glow.

John shook his head, trying to clear his mind as the pain began to subside and his breathing gradually returned to normal and the initial shock wore-off. Taking a calming breath, he took a moment to memorize the warmth of Sara's smile, storing it carefully, cataloged along with the memories of every time he had ever seen her smile before.

When the mental picture had been safely tucked away, John allowed himself a flicker of uncertainty - - it hadn't seriously occurred to him that Sara might be happy, that maybe she was building a life for herself that didn't involve waiting around for him. _Maybe he should have let it be? Maybe he shouldn't have come to disrupt her life and put her in danger once again_?

John stood frozen in place for a moment, his head and his heart warring within him. If he turned and walked away, Sara would never know that he'd kept his promise, that he'd come looking for her. _Maybe she would be happier that way_? There was no question that she'd be **safer** that way. He realized now that he'd been selfish, he'd come because _he_ needed to see her, he hadn't given enough thought to what Sara needed.

In that instant's hesitation, John lost the chance to make the choice for her, as Sara's eyes found his in the crowd.

It had taken a moment for Sara to collect herself, the world still tilting around her as she regained her equilibrium, searching the crowd for the one person she wanted to see more than anything in the world, the one man she spent all her waking dreams with in her mind. As her eyes darted frantically, it occurred to Sara that she may have imagined him, it had happened before. This time, she was not seeing things, her eyes finding his.

"_John_" she gasped out-loud, still dizzy, but now from the mere sight of him more than anything else.

His eyes locked with hers and the intensity of his gaze nearly knocked her off her feet. But there was something wrong, an uncertainty, John looked more lost in this moment than Sara had ever seen him look before.

He took a step backward, away from Sara and back in the direction he'd come.

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

John took a step back, trying to distance himself from the roller-coaster of emotions that Sara's mere presence had sent rushing through his body at break-neck speed. He could feel himself starting to lose control of himself, his hands beginning to tingle unbidden, the first sign of his legacy. He needed a minute to collect himself, some space to reign in the feelings that threatened to run away with him. As he tried to retreat, John found that he could not pull his eyes from hers.

"_Stay_" Sara implored wordlessly, her eyes trying to pin him in place with her gaze. She could see that John was at war with himself, that his instinct to flee seemed to be winning right now as he began to take another step backwards. Sara didn't know what to do or to say, she only knew that if he ran away from her right now it would shatter her heart into a thousand pieces.

John saw the word fall from her lips, felt it tug at his heart, more than he actually heard her utter it. He was too far away to hear her speak, but the plea in her eyes froze him where he stood. Time seemed to slow to a stop as everything in the world boiled down to only the two of them in that moment. Suddenly, she was in his arms and he knew it had not been a mistake to come.

Lost for words, Sara had chosen action, practically launching herself at John, the space between them gone in an instant as she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him as if she feared that he would disappear at any moment.

John wrapped his arms around her waist instinctively, preventing her from falling back to the ground as she buried her face in his shoulder, her arms a vice around his neck. John could feel her heart pounding in her chest as her body pressed tightly to his. He allowed his eyes to drift closed, enjoying the way Sara felt wrapped in his arms for the first time . . . . ever.

After several minutes which had passed in only the blink of an eye, John finally released Sara, placing her gently back on her feet. When she looked up at him, there were tears glistening in her eyes. John brushed his fingertips softly against her cheek, tucking her fallen bangs carefully behind her ear.

Time again seemed to freeze as he lost himself in the deep pools of her eyes, remembering the first time he had touched her that way, so many months ago. That very memory had haunted his dreams many a-night since he'd left Paradise; the feel of her skin like satin under his fingertips, the smell of vanilla, the way she had looked up at him when she asked "_where did you come from_?", like she could read his mind. He had tried and failed to say goodbye to her then, now he understood that she would be in his heart forever.

"_Are you okay_?" he murmured, noticing the unshed tears behind her lids.

"_I'm good_" she answered, barely above a whisper as the emotion of the moment seemed to have stolen her voice "_You_?" she queried.

"_Great_" he answered, smiling down at her. And for the first time in a long, long time, it was the truth.

"_Uh, ahem_" came an uncomfortable cough from behind them, and John was reminded that he and Sara weren't the only two people present. Reluctantly, John released his grip on Sara, turning to respond.

"_So, you must be the super-secret long-distance boyfriend_?" the interloper quipped amiably, extending his hand awkwardly in greeting as he struggled to balance both his and Sara's backpacks on his shoulder.

"_John_" he identified himself, returning the hand shake as he gave the stranger an assessing once-over in his most imposing "guard of Lorien" manner.

"_I'm Peter_" the student responded, noting the strength in John's grip before adding quickly "_the gay roommate_" putting a noticeable emphasis on "gay".

"_Hey, let's get out of here_" Sara suggested abruptly, noticing for the first time the amount of attention their display had attracted from the student body.

"_Good idea_" John agreed, taking her by the hand and starting to lead the way back to the visitor's parking lot as he looked around alertly, gauging any possible threats from the crowd. "_Which dorm is yours_?" he asked as they walked.

"_We have an apartment about fifteen minutes away_" Sara explained "_We take the bus back and forth to campus._"

John breathed a sign of relief, he would gladly follow Sara anywhere, but staying on campus would not have been his first choice, and listening to Six call him "cowboy" for taking such reckless chances was not something that he looked forward to when he got back.

"_Sweet!_" Peter exclaimed, slipping into the backseat of John's SUV just a few minutes later, tossing his and Sara's bags across the seat "_This beats mass-transit any day_"

Twenty minutes later, the three were walking into the entryway of Peter and Sara's two-bedroom apartment. Sara led the way, pulling John behind her, their fingers intertwined firmly. Peter couldn't help but notice that Sara had only released John's hand once and that had been while he was actually driving, otherwise she seemed hesitant to let go of him.

Peter hummed absent-mindedly as he set his keys on the table, following them into the darkened apartment. He'd known Sara for over a year now and he'd never seen her light-up the way she had the moment she saw John. Sara was good at hiding her pain, good at going through the motions and playing "normal", but Peter had gotten close enough to know that there was a spark missing from her.

Sara never went out on dates, never talked about the long-distance boyfriend that he'd finally forced her to admit she had, and sometimes, she would wake from her sleep screaming John's name. Peter could never get her to share that part of her life with him, she'd always said they weren't her secrets to tell, but Peter had guessed from her nightmare-induced babbling that John must be some sort of military-man and Sara worried every day that he might be killed.

Secretly, Peter had already decided not to like the guy if he ever had occasion to meet him, _what kind of idiot left a girl like Sara behind_? Now, one look at the two of them making doe-eyes at each other in the living room, and Peter could see that whatever it was that kept them apart, neither of them had chosen it.

"_Well_ . . . . " Peter announced dramatically as he set Sara's backpack on the entryway table _"I'm just going to grab my supplies and head over to Darren's_." he continued, throwing his own backpack on the couch and grabbing his portfolio from the kitchen table before taking a bottled water from the fridge "_Big presentation on Monday, might be gone __**all**__ weekend . . . ._" he trailed off pointedly, heading toward the door.

Sara reluctantly released John's hand, leaving him standing in the living room as she followed Peter into the entryway. "_Hey_" she whispered, putting her hand on his shoulder "_You don't have to make yourself scarce because of John, this is __**your**__ apartment._"

"_Honey, if I ever bring home something __**that**__ hot, I expect you to return the favor, got it?_" He teased, winking in John's direction "_Besides, I really do have that presentation_."

"_It's a deal_" Sara replied, kissing the cheek he'd offered.

"_Here_" Peter said, pulling her wrinkled letter from his pocket "_you're gonna want to frame this when you finally come back down to Earth_" he promised, handing her the letter from the post that she had carelessly dropped in the quad along with her bag when she saw John.

"_Thanks_" she whispered, taking the out-stretched letter.

"_Not a problem chickie_" he chirped "_Have fun_!" Peter sing-songed loudly as he swung the door shut behind him.

Sara turned back toward the apartment find John watching her intensely.

"_He seems nice_" he commented casually, not knowing what else to say. He and Sara had spent a few days getting to know each other more than a year ago. For all intents and purposes, they were practically strangers.

"_He __**is**__ nice_" Sara agreed, sensing his hesitation.

"_Not subtle_" John noted, shifting nervously from foot to foot. He had wanted more than anything to be alone with Sara again, and yet there was so much that they'd never even discussed.

"_No, definitely not_" Sara nodded in agreement, realizing the awkwardness of Peter's exit had unsettled John.

"_What's that_?" John inquired, arching his eyebrows in the direction of her hand.

"_It's from The Washington Post_" Sara explained, beaming happily "_they're going to use some of my photos in an upcoming spread_"

"_That's really great_" John offered genuinely, proud that someone besides him realized how talented she was.

"_You were the first person that I wanted to tell_" Sara confessed, her eyes meeting his boldly, putting her deepest feelings on display for him.

Sara understood John's uncertainty, he'd come all this way to see her and yet he didn't want to hurt her or disrupt her life, didn't want to assume that she was still his. Deciding the first move would have to be hers, Sara let the letter flutter carelessly to the floor as she walked over to stand directly in front of him. Running her hand slowly up his chest to rest behind his neck, she pulled his face toward hers as she stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his.

Sara kissed him softly at first, her lips ghosting gently, teasing across his as he let her take the lead. Soon Sara was pulling him closer, both arms locked around his neck as she erased every conceivable space between them, pressing her body to his as she caressed his mouth passionately with her own, pouring every emotion of the last seventeen months into their kiss. There could be no doubt that she was still his.

Finally, they broke for air, their lips separating but Sara refused to allow John to retreat, her arms remaining locked around his neck.

"_How long can you stay_?" she murmured against his lips, her voice barely above a whisper as she feared the answer.

"_Not long_" he responded honestly, panting slightly for the breath she had stolen from him.

Sara's heart fell for an instant, having dared for a foolish second to hope that he was back for good. It only took her a moment to recover, she wouldn't waste precious time with him worrying about what tomorrow would bring. Sara took John's hand in hers and led him toward the couch, pulling him down beside her.

"_Tell me everything_" she commanded.

tbc


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

". . . . _so there was Peter on-stage wearing nothing but a pair of chaps and a blue wig _. . ." Sara continued, covering her face as she laughed at the memory "._ . .and he's yelling at our tour-guide - - __**'Lady, didn't you see the sign? We're in the middle of a dress rehearsal here**__!' and Peter is __livid__ because a bunch of freshman just walked in and totally ruined the surprise ending of his sophomore project _. . ." Sara paused, taking a minute to catch her breath ". . . _and the tour guide just looks at him and she says - - '__**It's a dress rehearsal, I assumed you'd BE dressed**__!' and turns and storms off, and all us little freshman are standing there dumbstruck trying to decide if we should follow her, or wait to see what Peter will do next_!"

John chuckled, Sara's laughter contagious as he imagined the stunned expression on her face on only her second day of college. "_So, was that when you decided to share an apartment with him_?" he teased, arching his eyebrows quizzically.

"_Right, I figured he didn't have any secrets left after that._" Sara answered easily, resting her head against John's shoulder "_And most importantly, he doesn't mind if I keep mine_."

Curled up on the couch, John had told Sara all about finding Seven and Eight, the search for Sam's dad, and the growing power of his legacies, and she had given him the abbreviated version of events in Paradise and her life at George Washington. Before either realized it, several hours had passed.

"_I'm sorry that you have to lie to your friends because of me_" he offered sincerely, his hand squeezing her shoulder as she leaned against him.

"_Don't apologize_" Sara whispered, raising her head from his shoulder to look into his eyes "_I'm not sorry about anything that keeps you safe_." she promised, kissing his cheek lightly before settling back down against his chest.

Laying contentedly against his chest, Sara could hear the steady rhythm of John's heart as it beat in-time to her own. The time and the distance between them seemed to have fallen away as they spoke, sharing every detail of the last year of their lives, and soon it was like they had never been parted.

John felt safer and more at peace right now in this apartment with Sara, than he had in his whole entire life. Even before the Mogs had found them, there had always been a sea of uncertainty raging inside of him - _who was he_? _where did he belong_? Now, thanks to Sara, he knew the answer to both of those questions.

"_What are you thinking_?" she murmured, noticing John's heart beating faster beneath her ear.

"_Nothing_" he answered, stroking her hair absent-mindedly, reveling in the way it felt to be normal for a minute "_Just, I think this is what 'happy' must feel like_"

Sara nodded knowingly, she understood exactly what he meant, it was the same for her.

Looking up at him from this angle, Sara noticed for the first time a jagged scar on the underside of his chin. "_Where did you get this one_?" she asked, running her fingertips softly against the raised surface. Maybe it seemed morbid, but Sara wanted to hear all of John's stories, even the bad ones, she wanted to know everything that he was.

"_The Mogs found us just outside of Peking_" he explained, staring across the room, his eyes unfocused as he remembered "_They had Seven pinned down, so Six and I drew their fire so he could escape. His protector didn't make it_" John finished sadly.

Sara could see the guilt that he carried with him like a weight around his neck, she could see that he was thinking of Henri and the countless others who had sacrificed back on Lorien so that he and the rest of the children could live here on Earth.

"_I'm sorry_" she whispered softly, tears threatening behind her lids again. She felt John's pain as acutely as she would have felt her own. A dozen platitudes, each more inadequate than the last sprung to her mind and were quickly dismissed. Instead, Sara removed her fingertips from his chin and replaced them with her lips, caressing the scar gently "_I'm sorry_" she breathed against his skin, running her lips along the length of the injury.

John allowed his eyes to slip closed as Sara offered him solace, her lips dancing pleasantly across the old injury causing it to burn once again, but this time not from pain. When she was finished her ministrations, she wrapped her arms tightly around him, pulling him into a comforting embrace. John returned the hug, pulling Sara partially on to his lap as they cuddled on the sofa, his heart aching with the perfection of the moment.

"_Come with me_" Sara commanded softly a few minutes later, rising from the couch and pulling John along behind her "_I have something for you_"

Entering her bedroom here, John felt the same awe that he had felt back in Paradise - - her cameras were placed carefully on her desk, hundreds of pictures covered her walls, the albums lined-up neatly on the bookshelf. Every item present was infused with Sara's warmth, with her personality, they all told her story whether she meant for them to or not.

They were so different she and he, John had spent his whole life burning memories every time that he and Henri headed off for a new town, and Sara's entire world of experiences were right there on display for all to see. John was reminded of dinner with her family that night, how he'd thought to himself, watching them argue good-naturedly around the table - - _**this**__ is what love is._ And he'd wanted that feeling of belonging for himself.

Sara released his hand, walking over to the dresser and switching on the lamp. A soft pink glow illuminated the room and John took in more of his surroundings - - clothing and textbooks were tossed carelessly on the furniture or the floor, while her photos were arranged with meticulous care across every flat surface and wall, ticket stubs from the local galleries pinned carefully to the corkboard above her desk.

John walked over to the desk, his eyes drawn to a picture of Sara that lay hidden partially beneath another - - it had been taken from above, she was standing in-front of the camera for a change, her hand stretching upward in an attempt to cover the lens, but not quickly enough as the shutter snapped, freezing her face in the shadow cast by her hand, leaving her expression partially obscured - - it was beautiful, _she_ was beautiful.

"_You still don't like anyone to look at you_" he observed, mesmerized by the mystery in the photo - - _had she been laughing when it was taken_? _scowling_?

"_You've got me there_" Sara admitted, smiling somewhat sheepishly

John returned her smile, it was so easy to smile in her presence, so easy to forget the weight of his responsibilities and just . . . be.

Sara moved over to her bed, reaching into the nightstand and pulling out a book, it was her journal. "_I want you to have this_" she said, placing the leather-bound volume in his hands.

"_I thought this was personal_?" he asked, swallowing hard at the implied meaning behind the gesture.

"_It is_" Sara answered, meeting his questioning gaze with certainty in hers _"I decided that I want you to see me, __**only you**_"

tbc


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note: Okay guys, this is probably the next to last chapter. Again, it's kinda short, my apologies but I'm a really slow writer. Please leave a review, I'd love to know what you like/don't like about the story**_.

**Chapter 7**

Sara inclined her head in the direction of the easychair in the corner, offering John a seat. She hurried across the room before him, quickly collecting the scattered clothing that covered it's surface, allowing him to sit down unencumbered.

John followed her lead, sitting in the chair she had indicated and opening the journal carefully. Sara switched-on the standing lamp above his head, positioning it's gooseneck to illuminate his view. Then, Sara perched on the arm of the chair above him, her arm resting on John's shoulder as she looked down, watching the expressions play across his face as he turned the pages.

John turned the pages slowly, his eyes caressing every word, every picture carefully. Some of them he had seen before, but the latest entries were new. Sara had gone back to the high school's darkroom and collected every photograph he had taken for her. The ones of him were missing (_probably meant to protect his identity_), but the pictures he had taken of her, of Henri, of the dog, they were all there, carefully mounted beside the flyer for the spring carnival and her ticket stub from the haunted hayride.

Later, there were the pictures of her - - senior prom, graduation, her first day of college, a clipping of her first picture printed in the school newspaper, her second, her third, photos of Sara on work-study in Guatemala, biking along the C&O canal, spring break in Cancun, winter in Switzerland.

"_You've been busy_" he observed, running his fingers over a picture of Sara in front of the family Christmas tree, wearing a hideous Rudolph sweater. John couldn't help but smile, thoroughly charmed by the embarrassment evident on her face in that photo. She didn't like for people to see her, but she had put herself on display in these pages - - for **him** to see.

"_Yeah_" she agreed, her fingers leaving his shoulder to dance through the hair at the base of his scalp, longer now than it had been the last time she saw him. "_But you know_, _it turns out you were right - - it's the people, not the place_."

John flipped over the last page of the journal, finding a picture of himself, the only one she'd dared to keep - - she must have taken it accidentally, that night in the woods when Mark and his teammates had attacked them. As her camera had fallen it had snapped a photograph of him, a dim blue light shining in the darkness, a vague silhouette, unrecognizable to anyone but them. And beneath the photo in red sharpie, Sara had written one word . . . . _**ever**_.

John swallowed against the lump in his throat as his fingers traced the outline of the word. Sara hated being the subject of pictures, she had done it for _him_, she had documented it all for _him_. Over the past year, her journal had become one long love letter _to him_.

"_I didn't want you to miss anything_" she whispered, her fingers continuing to twirl his hair around them absent-mindedly as she watched John's face carefully.

Since the moment she had seen him on the quad, the confusion and uncertainty evident on his face, Sara had wanted to tell John that she was still his, that she would _always_ be his. Now, the expression on his face told her that he was beginning to understand.

John set the journal reverently on the floor, reaching up and pulling Sara from the arm of the chair and down onto his lap. He looked deep into her eyes, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. "_I can't stay, it isn't safe, not yet_"

"_Okay_" was all she said, as she pressed her lips to his.

Gripping her chin gently, John broke the kiss, holding Sara firmly in place as she tried to move toward him again "_I don't know when I'll be back_" he continued, his breath becoming ragged as she shifted on-top of him, trying to pull him close.

"_I understand_" she answered, releasing his grip on her chin with her own hand and bringing his hand to her lips, kissing his palm softly.

John closed his eyes, sucking in a sharp breath as he tried to remain rational. "_I can't ask you to wait for me_" he argued, trying in-vain to calm the thundering of his heart.

It seemed, in spite of everything, that she would have to say it after all. "_You're not asking_," Sara said firmly, laying his palm across her heart and holding it there "_I'm volunteering_".

John could feel Sara's heart beating beneath his fingertips, pounding as wildly as his own was, and the strength of the feeling frightened him, he was so close to having everything he had never dared to admit that he wanted. And now, in this moment, he found that he needed to hear her say it.

"_Why_?" he asked, holding his breath.

"_Henri said that Loriens only fall in love once . . . . ever_" Sara explained, running her thumb across his cheek as she held his eyes with her own "_I think some humans are like that to_" she confessed, looking straight into his soul "_You are __**my**__ ever_".

tbc


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_**Author's Note: Okay guys, this is the final chapter. Originally, I had intended a more adult love scene, but this little PG-13 wrote itself instead. **_

_**I hope you enjoyed my story. **_

_**Please leave a review, it might just encourage me to write another one**_

"_You are __**my**__ ever_"

"_You are __**my**__ ever_"

Sara's words echoed in his ears and it was as if a damn had broken inside of him, the current of emotions breaching the walls that he had erected to protect himself, spilling overtop and soaking everything in it's path. John had known since the moment he'd left Paradise that Sara would forever be inside of his heart, but secretly, unconsciously, he had guarded a part of himself, protected it by never truly believing that she could feel the same way about him, that way the inevitable disappointment would sting the less.

John had never wanted anything the way he wanted Sara, not even his own life. Yes, she was beautiful and desirable, he wanted her body, but he also wanted her to ache for him the way he ached for her. He wanted her to wake up in the middle of the night burning for him, to see stars when they touched the way that he did. But even more than that, he had wanted her heart to belong to him. Now, her words unlocked that door, sending every hidden feeling within him rushing out toward the light.

Sara's eyes bore into his, watching the storm of emotions swirling in their luminous depths, trying to read what John was thinking - - she saw his doubt suddenly replaced by certainty, no longer resignation and loneliness, but hope and happiness instead.

John released the breath he hadn't even realized that he was holding, exhaling deeply as he pulled Sara's lips to his, finally giving in to his stampeding feelings. Where his hand still lay above her heart, he could feel Sara's heart skip a beat as he reached for her.

Time seemed to stand still and speed up all at the same time. Sara had been unprepared for his sudden power. John had never kissed her like this before. She suddenly realized that he had always held back in the past, cautious that her feelings may not have matched his own.

The fire in his touch was exquisite as his lips meshed with hers. His hands threaded through her hair pulling her close, stilling her movement atop his lap. She wanted everything from him. Sara opened her mouth and John pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist as his tongue swept across hers. The sensations bombarding Sara's mind were too numerous to process, even if she could have found the thought to do so. John tasted like peppermint, and coffee, and heaven.

Every nerve in her body felt electrified, Sara thought her legs would have given out had they not been seated already, as John continued his thorough exploration of her mouth, his hands holding her tightly, but remaining remarkably still themselves. She moaned into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck as she tried to get even closer.

It felt as if she were flying and falling all at once, how could John be so strong and so soft all at once? So powerful and yet gentle at the same time? Passionate and yet respectful? Truly kissing John for the first time was a rush of contradictions.

Sara leaned her body down onto his, leaving only a hair's breadth between them, she could feel the evidence of his desire stirring beneath her. Suddenly, the lamp above them exploded - - the bulb shattering into a hundred pieces, giving off a blinding white flash of light before plunging the bedroom into semi-darkness.

A few milliseconds later, the power for the whole building blinked, surging off before quickly surging back on again, but Sara hardly noticed, her entire focus on the explosions that John was setting off inside of her. John noticed however, noticed that he was losing control of his growing legacies for the first time since he'd originally started to develop them back in Paradise nearly two years ago.

"_Wait_" he gasped, his hands shining a brilliant blue as they flashed beyond his control. Panting as he pushed Sara's lips from his, he slid her entire body backward across his lap and toward his knees, trying to place her at a safer distance.

"_Are you okay_?" she asked breathlessly as she perched as far from his lap as was possible without her falling to the ground, chewing on her lip in confusion at his sudden change in demeanor.

"_I can't _. . ." he trailed off, his breath coming in ragged gulps, the sweat beginning to shine across his forehead, soaking his hair. John suddenly felt like he was on fire, but no longer the good kind - - the kind he had felt that day in class when Mark had set him off by insulting Sam.

"_Can't what_?" Sara asked, reaching toward him in concern, running the back of her hand across his forehead "_Oh my gosh, you're burning up_" she exclaimed, John's skin was scorching to the touch.

As the back of her hand brushed innocently across his brow, Sara had leaned herself forward to reach him, brushing her body against his waist, and the whole building had gone dark again, the power blinking off longer this time before returning to normal.

"_I can't control it_" John whispered through strangled breath, fear of his own power creeping in for the first time in ages. His legacies had always been tied to his emotions - - even in the beginning, he had been stronger when he had grieved for Henri or feared for Sara's life, but he had learned to channel it safely over the past year, at least he'd _thought_ he had.

"_John_ . . ." Sara murmured, scooting closer still, trying to comfort him by placing a hand on his

cheek. He looked like he was in pain, and Sara could only deduce that she was the one causing it, though she didn't know why.

Outside her third-story window, a brilliant flash of light erupted as a transformer exploded, causing the traffic light up the street to plunge into darkness.

"_Oh_!" Sara gasped, finally realizing what was happening.

John's powers were linked to his emotions, earlier he'd told her all about how he and the others had been teaching themselves to control their legacies, to summon them on demand and how _not_ to summon them by accident. Six was quite naturally the best at this skill, since she rarely bothered to _have_ emotions in the first place, but John had become very proficient himself over the past year. He hadn't accidentally exploded anything since before he'd left Paradise.

Now, John was blinking the whole building on and off - - he couldn't seem to control himself around _**her**_. Actually, if it weren't for the fear she saw in John's eyes, Sara would have found the whole thing extremely flattering.

_What if he couldn't help himself, what if he hurt Sara_? The worry overtaking him, John moved to stand, intending to swivel and place her in the chair as he stood up, but Sara pushed him back down, using her body weight as leverage to prevent him from fleeing.

"_Don't_" she implored, kneeling with either knee to the sides if his thighs as he sat, balancing herself above him. Sara didn't know what to do, only that running wasn't the answer. She realized now that she had been waiting for John to come along for her entire life, not just the last year and a half. Whatever was happening, they would face it together.

"_Look at me_" she commanded, her fingers guiding his chin to face her, his eyes eventually raising to meet her gaze "_Breathe, okay, just breathe._"

John's impulse was to run, to close his eyes and hide, run from the raging current that had suddenly taken over and made his body an unwilling participant in it's powerplay, but something stayed him - - Sara. As the world started spinning on it's head, he had heard her voice, he could hear it now.

"_Everything's okay_" she murmured, caressing his cheek softly, kissing his forehead "_Just breathe, in and out_"

Sara kept touching him, her fingers on his cheek, her lips on his brow, the constant contact eventually allowing his body to adjust to the sensations and become used to the simultaneous firing of every nerve ending in his body. John focused on his breathing, listening to the soothing sound of her voice, letting the torrents of emotion crash over him again and again. After a few minutes, he was in-control of himself once more, his hands still warm, but no longer glowing unbidden in the darkness of Sara's bedroom.

"_Hey_ . . ." Sara whispered, leaning forward to kiss his cheek "_Are you okay_?"

"_Sorry_" he managed quietly, reclining his head against the back of the chair and staring up at the ceiling.

"_For what_?" Sara asked, finally giving his lips a gentle kiss now that he was back with her "_I thought that was kinda hot_" she confessed, kissing him again.

"_My near melt-down_?" he asked, looking her in the eye and raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"_Yeah_" Sara confirmed teasingly "_Not that many girls get __**literal**__ fireworks_"

John couldn't help but smile in response, finding nothing but acceptance in her eyes; Sara wasn't afraid of him, even when he scared himself. His eyes darkened as he held her gaze a bit longer, the air between them beginning to smolder with electricity as he realized that Sara truly _was_ right here with him in this moment.

Sara shuttered in his arms, the way John was looking at her right now made her stomach flutter. His eyes held love, and desire and the promise of things to come. Reaching for her, his kiss this time was slow, but no less powerful. His tongue stroked hers lazily, exploring every inch of her mouth before traveling slowly down her neck, leaving fire in it's wake. He sucked gently at the hollow below her collarbone, then traveled upwards again to exhale softly behind her earlobe.

John's attentions were maddening, and Sara was shivering in the most delicious way as she fisted one hand through his hair and her other made it's way under his shirt. Sara pressed her nails into John's skin as her hand skimmed across his stomach, causing the muscles there to twitch their approval.

Sara allowed herself to melt into John, sinking further down into his lap. She could feel his hardness, throbbing beneath her center, creating the most delicious burn low in her belly as his tongue set her mouth ablaze. Sara moaned as John ran his hand down her neck and between her breasts to play with the buttons on her shirt. His fingers moved quickly over the tiny buttons, releasing each one swiftly until he pulled the shirt from her shoulders tossing it to the floor.

Sara ran her hands through his hair. Gasping as the pad of his thumb flicked back and forth over one camisole-clad nipple, she let her head fall back bonelessly. Just when she thought she might come apart, he switched to the other nipple, nibbling his way back up her neck, kissing her soundly on the lips as his hands continued to knead her breasts. It felt as if molten lava were flowing through her veins, every nerve from her fingertips to the tips of her toes was alive and singing.

"_Bed_" she whispered, pulling her lips from his for just a moment.

Sara wrapped her legs around John's waist as he stood, moving across the room to deposit her carefully onto the bed. John stood above her for a moment, pulling off his hooded sweatshirt and letting it fall to the floor before settling beside her on the bed in only his t-shirt and jeans.

John ran his hand across Sara's cheek, brushing her bangs out of her eyes tenderly with the tips of his fingers and tucking them safely behind her ear.

"_I love you_" he whispered, his eyes looking deep into her own.

"_I love you too_" Sara promised, bringing her hand up to intertwine his fingers with her own "_forever_"

_**The End**_


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